Defense officials, lawmakers say V-22 program is healthy

Defense officials, lawmakers judge Osprey program healthy Top Marine Corps officials and key members of Congress expressed confidence Tuesday that a presentation to critical Pentagon leaders on the restructured Osprey program has assured the survival of the controversial tilt-rotor aircraft.

Gen. James Jones, the Marine Corps commandant, said he sees "a generally supportive atmosphere'' for the V-22 among top civilian Pentagon officials after a briefing on the Osprey's flight test program.

Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., a longtime leader of the pro-Osprey lobby, declared: "The V-22 has never been on more solid ground. I'm here to say we've won.''

The Osprey is among several high-profile procurement programs that could be cut in the fiscal 2004 Defense budget now being drafted.

The optimistic attitude about the status of the Marine Corps' top aviation priority was shared by officials of the Bell-Boeing manufacturing team, who also attended a Capitol Hill symposium on the Osprey organized by the Center for Security Policy, the Heritage Foundation and the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

The optimism was based on the reaction to the briefings and flight demonstration for Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and others, including one of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's closest advisers.

"They all seemed pleased with the changes made and the progress,'' said Gen. William Nyland, the assistant commandant.